


Haigan Ronkyuu

by RaccoonOfChaos



Series: Serial Messiness [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Blood and Violence, Character Death, Danganronpa AU, Dark Comedy, F/F, F/M, Gender or Sex Swap, Graphic Description of Corpses, Humor, Implied Sexual Content, Mild Sexual Content, Rule 63, School Life of Mutual Killing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-22
Updated: 2017-04-03
Packaged: 2018-10-09 03:42:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10403079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaccoonOfChaos/pseuds/RaccoonOfChaos
Summary: Kidnapped and trapped in an unfamiliar school, forced to either live within the confines of the school walls or commit homicide to gain freedom. A situation like this can only end badly, and when tensions get high, peoples true colors begin to show.





	1. Welcome to Hell!

Fluorescent lights beamed to life in a school gymnasium, dousing fifteen inhabitants in the almost blinding yellow light. Groans and whines rose from the hardwood floors as several of the aforementioned bodies began to gain consciousness. One by one they rose, minds fogged with a haze of missing information, delirious, and groggy. The wave of low groans gradually developed into a chorus of confused chatter and panicked murmurs. 

“Must’ve been some party…” croaked one girl, adjusting her sore neck from laying on the floor for so long. She yawned, stretching her arms and back nonchalantly and quickly spotted a familiar face. She smiled wide, blushing slightly and waved at her friend, who, still in a state of dazed confusion, returned the smile and waved back half heartedly. “Misaki-saaaan~,” she called out to her friend without thinking. 

“Terushima-saaan~,” he replied in a mocking tone. He stood up at the same time as Terushima and met her halfway, allowing her to envelope him in a tight hug and a small kiss on his cheek. “Yea, nice to see you too, hon,” Misaki mumbled as he wiped the sticky, pink, residue of candy flavored lipgloss off his cheek. “...but I don’t think now’s the time…” he trailed off his sentence as he looked around, taking in his surroundings. There were several other teenagers with them, all in a similar state of confusion. As he surveyed the others he found that some were familiar faces; Karasuno captain, vice captain, and Ace, he believed, all sat in a triangle with worried looks on their faces, speaking to each other, probably trying to figure out what was going on. He also recognized two star volleyball players who almost constantly appeared in magazines; Ushijima Wakatoshi, captain and ace of Shiratorizawa, as well as the number three best ace in the country, and Oikawa Tooru, captain and setter of Aoba Johsai. Before he could see if he recognized anyone else another girl caught his eye. She was on the far end of the gymnasium approaching the stage cautiously; Misaki couldn’t make out if she was another volleyball player or if he knew her. The long, slick ponytail that waterfalled past her butt didn’t seem all that familiar. His eye was then drawn to the stage itself, or rather what was on it. What looked like a stuffed, monochromatic teddy bear sat on top of a podium, motionless as the girl approached it. She hopped up on the stage and carefully circled the bear, examining it and poking at it before deciding to pick it up. She held it out in front of her and stared into it’s eyes. What she was looking at exactly was unclear, but what was clear was that the bear may have also been looking at her. Without any warning an earsplitting cackle of the likes none of the teens had heard before erupted from the seemingly inanimate toy, inciting an equally piercing scream from the girl holding him, causing her to let go of the bear and stumble off the stage, falling, and landing flat on her back. She whimpered in pain as Ushijima went over to help her up. A sinister laugh wafted through the crowd from one of the teenagers. 

“That was so majestic, it’s a wonder why Mika dumped you, Daishou _ -chaaan~! _ ” the “chan” was drawn out in a mocking tone. Daishou turned to look directly at her heckler, shooting daggers with her eyes as a few other girls chuckled to themselves. 

“Are...you hissing?” Ushijima questioned, still holding on to Daishou’s arm. Her tongue was sticking out slightly and a low hissing sound, like an angry rattlesnake was coming from her mouth. Upon realizing what she was doing, Daishou clamped her mouth shut and turned away from the rest of them. She bowed as thanks to Ushijima and then crossed her arms, letting the embarrassment simmer inside her for a bit. The lighthearted atmosphere of seeing someone hurt themself however was short lived as the bear that seemed to have left everyone’s memory momentarily, stood up on it’s own and hopped over to the podium, adjusting the mic, and clearing it’s throat. This caught everyone’s attention and they stared in shock and in some cases, horror, as this supposedly stuffed toy began speaking to them and moving on his own.

“Ahem! Greetings, ladies!...and gentleman…” the bear turned his head and stared pointedly at Misaki, who raised an eyebrow in response. My name is Monokuma, and from this day on, I will be your new principle!” he cheered that last sentence, waving his tiny arms around and bouncing in place. Everyone remained silent, dumbstruck. “I bet you’re all wondering why and how you got here, no? Hahaha! Well, that’s not important!”

“Um, actually, I would really like to know how and why we’re here. This is all really sudden and confusing.” Sugawara interrupted the bear. Monokuma turned to her, making her flinch under his extremely unsettling gaze. 

“Don’t worry your pretty little head, sugar! There’s only two things you need to know while you’re here and I’m about to tell you both! Additionally, if you interrupt me again I’ll see to it that you’re head  **_isn’t_ ** so pretty anymore!” At the last statement, his voice turned into more of a growl and large, sharp claws unsheathed from his paw. Sugawara’s jaw dropped, but she quickly closed it in light of the threat. “Now then,  _ as I was saying _ , the how’s and why’s aren’t important! What  _ is  _ important, is the what’s! As in,  _ what  _ I want all of you to do! First things first, now that you’re here, you’re here FOREVER!” Suddenly, two giant confetti cannons blew multicolored confetti all over the place. Everyone’s expression turned grim and dark. 

“F-forever?” one girl squeaked in the back.

“That’s right, forever! You’ll live here in my school, together until the day you die! Isn’t that exciting?” 

“Um, no?! What the hell are you talking about? You can’t keep us in here forever! Who’s controlling this stupid toy anyway?” the thunderous protest came from Oikawa, stomping her foot and throwing her hands in the air (like she just don’t care). 

“The  _ who’s  _ aren’t important either, princess! And don’t worry, I’ve stocked this place with everything you’ll need for survival! Food that gets refilled every day, your own rooms, a luxurious bath, and the company of good friends!” 

“Ok, but...why?” Terushima cocked her head and twirled a piece of her hair, feeling much more confused and unsure about the situation than before. Misaki panicked slightly, thinking what would happen if this deranged bear though Terushima’s question counted as interrupting him. 

“Didn’t I just tell you the  _ why’s  _ aren’t important?!” Monokuma became comedically angry, with red pulsing veins and steam shooting from his ears. Misaki clamped his hand over Terushima’s mouth, slightly regretting it as he remembered the sticky lipgloss that’s always covering them. “Anyway, just keep an open mind, you’ll see! Besides, if things go according to plan, you won’t be here for terribly long!” 

“But didn’t you just say we’d be here for the rest of our lives?” Daichi spoke up in a firm tone making everyone else’s hearts skip a beat, hoping Monokuma wouldn’t decide now to lose his patience. 

“Oh you are! But that doesn’t mean the rest of your life will be a very long life, if you catch my drift.” Monokuma hinted and waited for everyone to catch the bait. So far no one had been hurt from responding to Monokuma as long as you don’t interrupt his train of thought. 

Feeling a rush of bravery, Daishou spoke up. “Does that mean...you’re gonna kill us?” she asked and took a quick step back, reaching her arm back and grasping for Ushijima’s arm who thankfully hadn’t moved too far away. 

“Oh no no no, my slimy dame,” Daishou scrunched up her face at the name she got. ‘Slimy???’ she could hear muffled snickers behind her. “Here’s the kicker, kiddos. You see I won’t be killing any of you rascals. My paws will stay squeaky clean! The ones doing the killing however, will be ALL OF YOU!” More confetti erupted out of the cannons. 

“H-huh?...” several gasped. 

“It’s just as I said! Welcome to the school life of mutual killing! You’ll be staying in this school living and bonding with one another for the rest of your lives, but if you  _ really  _ wanna get out, the one thing you have to do is murder one of your compadres and not. Get!  _ CAUGHT! _ ” Now smoke cannons went off from the stage floor on varying colors. No one said a word. They stood stone still and silent, letting what Monokuma said sink in. It hardly felt real for some of them, like a crazy dream after you eat too much sugar before bed. “I can see you’re all speechless. Hopefully by how excited you are to start killing! I think I’ve given enough of an orientation, so I shall dismiss myself and leave you all to adjust to your new life. Toodles!” With a hop and a giggle the bear descended into the floor and disappeared. They were left alone in silence. 

“Um...what?” The group of teens had never been more confused in their lives. A cloud of murmurs formed yet again between those who already knew each other, gradually dividing themselves into about six groups. Occasionally, someone might glance over at another group, maybe recognizing them from elsewhere, but not approaching them. Finally, the almost calmed atmosphere was rattled yet again when a loud smack echoed around the gymnasium walls, followed by a high pitched, broken shriek. Everyone’s heads snapped around to find the source, looks of concern and mild horror written on their faces. These expressions quickly morphed into looks of unamusement and relief after they discovered the culprits. 

“That hurt! What’s your problem!” the victim of the slap was on her stomach, propping herself up with one hand like a seal, and rubbing her butt with the other, glaring angrily at her assailant. 

“You slept through the whole announcement, I was making sure you weren’t dead.” the culprit had a sinister smirk plastered on her face as she chuckled into her hand at the other’s pain. She shot up, still fuming, and loomed over the other who was still sitting.

“What announcement? No one’s even here, Kuroo! You mean cat!” she stuck her tongue out at Kuroo and then stomped over to another girl, not even a foot away from them, plopping down on the floor and wincing at the impact of her butt to the floor. She whined and leaned on the other girl’s shoulder, pouting. “Akaaaaashi~, why are we at school on a weekend? Did you drag me here to  _ study  _ again?” she grumbled and whined, not even noticing that the gym they were in wasn’t even her school’s. 

“Bokuto-san, we aren’t even at Fukurodani. I’m honestly just as confused as you are…” she stopped short and hesitated. “ _ Almost  _ as confused as you are,” she corrected herself. “Basically, a talking bear showed up and told us we’ll be trapped in this school for the rest of our lives. The catch, however, is that our lives probably won’t be very long, because he wants us to kill each other to gain freedom to the outside world.” she explained, but received no response. She glanced over at her shoulder to see what her expression was, if maybe she didn’t understand something, or was just too in shock, only to find that she had fallen asleep again. 

“Hey guys,” a familiar voice called them from overhead. The small group looked up at the vice captain of Karasuno, smiling innocently at them all. “We were all gonna huddle up and introduce ourselves, since not everyone is familiar with us all.” They nodded and rose to walk over to the middle of the gymnasium where everyone was gathered around. The circle was silent for several seconds, no one knowing how to start. Finally a sing-songy voice chirped up.

“Well, I’m sure everyone already knows who I am, so I’ll graciously skip my introduction.” She flipped her long spiral curls over her shoulder and flashed a quick peace sign. 

“...who is that?” came a low whisper from the other side of the circle. 

“Just introduce yourself properly, you conceited dumbass!” the girl next to her smacked her on the arm and gave a firm, irritated look. 

“Mean, Iwa-chan…” she mumbled while giving the most pitiful expression and fake sob. “My name’s Oikawa Tooru. Captain and setter for Aoba Johsai! Best team in Miyagi prefecture might I add!” she flipped her hair again. “Iwa-chan” rolled her eyes.

“Iwaizumi Hajime, vice captain and wing spiker for Aoba Johsai-”

“Iwa-chan, don’t be so modest you’re our ace, be more proud!” Oikawa slapped Iwaizumi on the back.

“You have enough pride for both of us, dumbass!” Iwaizumi yelled in Oikawa’s face and slapped her hand away, gently. The next person on Iwaizumi’s left spoke up. 

“My name is Sugawara Koushi, vice captain and setter for Karasuno. Nice to meet you all!” she spoke very sweetly, but there was a hard to place roughness to her voice. Nonetheless, she radiated beauty and grace like an angel.

“Um, my name is Azumane Asahi...I guess I’m one of Karasuno’s wing spikers…” Asahi’s voice trailed off at the end of her sentence and she shied away from looking anyone in the eyes. 

“Come on  _ Asahi _ , don’t be so  _ modest _ , you’re Karasuno’s  _ ace _ !” Sugawara began slapping Asahi on the back in a similar fashion to Oikawa to Iwaizumi. Her words also seemed to be in a slightly mocking tone, further strengthened by the fact she flipped her long silver hair over her shoulder and flashed a peace sign.

“Hey, are you mocking me?!” Oikawa yelled in protest. Sugawara just giggled and shook her head to reassure her that she “ _ totally wasn’t making fun of you at all” _ . 

“I’m Sawamura Daichi, captain and wing spiker for Karasuno, pleasure to meet you all.” Everyone nodded at her introduction; the way she spoke and held herself was very mature and powerful. A real leader type. 

“Ushijima Wakatoshi, captain and ace of Shiratorizawa.” she was very monotone and serious, straight to the point. 

“Why didn’t you also tell us your test scores and bra size, conceited!” Oikawa heckled at her, sticking out her tongue. Without missing a beat Ushijima turned and looked her right in the eyes. 

“Why didn’t you come to Shiratorizawa and win for once?” she deadpanned. Iwaizumi had to physically hold Oikawa back as she lashed out, clawing at Ushijima and screaming incoherent nonsense. Her face was red with rage, you could almost see steam coming from her ears. 

“Hello~, it’s Tendou Satori, ultimate middle blocker for Shi-ra-to-ri-zawa!” she yelled bouncing in place. Ushijima nodded at her. 

“Hey, I know you! They call you the “Guess Monster”, right? Cuz you’re good at predicting where the ball is gonna go, yeah?” Terushima piped up from her spot in Misaki’s lap. 

“Haha! My legacy precedes me! Yes, in a sea of exceptional wing spikers, there is one blocker who can destroy them all, crushing their very soul and ripping apart their fragile hearts! Hmhmhm!” she hummed and puffed out her chest pridefully.  

“Huh? So you say you can block any spiker?” Suddenly Bokuto was alert and facing Tendou, challengingly. “That’s only because you’ve never gone up against the number four ace in the country, Bokuto Koutarou! Hahahaha!” she was now standing, laughing maniacally. 

“Yeah, under Ushijima, who happens to be on her team.” Akaashi explained as she yanked Bokuto down to the ground. 

“Akaaaashi~, you’re supposed to be on my side about stuff!” she protested. 

“By the way, I’m Akaashi Keiji, vice captain and setter of Fukurodani, it’s nice to meet you all.”

“Don’t ignore meee!” Bokuto was now throwing a full on tantrum, but she was ignored completely.

“I apologize in advance.” she bowed her head, continuing to pay Bokuto no mind as she sputtered and waved her arms around frantically. Iwaizumi nodded at Akaashi, empathizing with her task. 

“I’m Kuroo Tetsurou, Nekoma’s captain and middle blocker.” without leaving much space to let the information sink in she nudged Kenma on her left to give her intro. She grumbled and held onto herself tighter. It took a moment but she finally began to mumble some semblance of an introduction.

“Kozume Kenma...setter.” Kuroo pat her head as she turned and buried herself in Kuroo’s chest, hiding her face. 

“Yaku Morisuke, Nekoma’s libero. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” she smiled cheerfully, similar to Sugawara, emanating grace and innocence. The others responded in a similar way too, nodding in acceptance, and smiling back at her. 

“Don’t be fooled, she’s actually a demon. Protect your souls.” Kuroo “whispered” to the other side of the circle. Still holding her sweet and innocent smile she turned to Kuroo and aggressively mouthed the words “fuck off and die”, to which Kuroo responded by gasping overdramatically and pretending to faint. 

“Did you see that?! She’s so evil!” 

“It’s a wonder you got the position of captain you mange cat!” Daishou called from her spot. 

“What’s that, slimy? I can’t hear you over your pathetic loneliness!” Kuroo shot back.

“Heyo! Name’s Terushima Yuuji~! I’m the captain and wing spiker for Johzenji! Nice ta meecha!” she winked and did a peace sign, inciting an angry grumble from Oikawa. 

“And I’m Misaki Hana, team manager for Johzenji. It’s a pleasure.” he adjusted Terushima in his lap so that he could get a better view of everyone and they could actually see him. Upon taking in every face for the first time, it finally hit him, albeit late, that he was the only boy in the group. “Oh...uh...this is awkward.” he blushed and smiled awkwardly. He was used to being surrounded by girls all the time being one of the Johzenji girls volleyball team managers, but this was much different. At least he always had another guy manager, and during training camps other’s would show up as well. In this case, though, he was really the  _ only  _ boy in a sea of girls. He shook his head of any inhibitions on the subject. They were just high school girls, it’s not like it changes the fact that they were all in a weird hostage situation. He held onto Terushima tighter, being the only person he knew personally and was fairly close to, he found comfort in her being right on top of him, holding onto each other. 

“And lastly, I’m Daishou Suguru, captain and wing spiker for Nohebi. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.” her tone was overly sweet, her smile, while innocent looking enough, hid a very sinister soul. Kuroo glared daggers at her, almost hissing. 

“Great! Now at least we’re all acquainted with each other, this should make cooperation a lot easier.” Daichi clapped her hands together and stood up, the others following her leadership and standing as well. “Now we-OUCH!” her speech came to an abrupt pause as her face was assaulted by a projectile. It fell to the floor, but didn’t seem to break. Daichi rubbed her cheek where she was hit and groaned, looking down at what hit her. It was some kind of...tablet? But for a tablet it was quite small, only about the size of her palm. She examined it, finding a button on the side, and the screen glowed to life. It had a photo of Daichi, ID style in the corner along with basic information: gender, height, weight, age, and there was a slidable menu at the bottom. “The heck is this?” Daichi mumbled to herself as she tapped around the screen to see what would come up. Just as she was about to show Sugawara another one fell from the ceiling and landed directly on Oikawa’s head.

“Ow! What the hell?!” she whined as she snatched the device off the floor. One by one, soon picking up pace, the small devices flew directly at each person, usually hitting them, some able to catch them, barely. Everyone silently swiped through them, gasping here and there when they find something new. 

“A map of the school...it looks like a lot of it is blacked out...probably off limits.” Ushijima pointed out.

“Look at this, school rules. Number one: No assaulting Monokuma; disobedience of this rule will result in immediate punishment?” Yaku read aloud, cocking an eyebrow at the suspicious wording.

“Number two: Off limits means off limits; breaking of school property to access an area is strictly prohibited, rule breakers will be punished.” Asahi read, terror evident in her shaking voice.

“Number three: You have the freedom to stay as long as you want, however, the only way to leave is by playing my game...upupupu…the fuck?” Terushima read over Misaki’s shoulders.

“The game is simple, kill a comrade, participate in the trial, don’t get voted as the murderer. If you are caught red handed, you alone will be punished, however, if you manage to place the blame on someone else, you may leave, while the rest are subsequently punished…” Daichi lowered her screen and looked worriedly at her teammates who had similar expressions of concern. 

“Wait...that part about killing someone...that’s not... _ real  _ is it?” Bokuto looked at Akaashi for reassurance, dread quickly showing in her paling face. Akaashi didn’t meet her gaze, only squeezed her shoulder tightly and pressed her closer. She could feel Bokuto trembling and breathing quickly. Akaashi cursed under her breath that she wasn’t able to do anything. They were all at the mercy of this psychotic bear it seemed. Everyday for years and years, Akaashi had been by Bokuto’s side, helping her through countless fits, anxiety and panic attacks, and troublesome episodes both manic and depressive, but this time she felt just as helpless and anxious as Bokuto and she knew she couldn’t show it. 

“C’mere.” she heard a soft voice before an arm wrapped around her and Bokuto’s backs, pulling them into another body. The both of them looked up to see Kuroo, also holding onto Kenma in her other arm. “Don’t go self destructing yet. For the time being it seems we’re safe. Just stay calm and stick together, alright?” Kenma gripped Kuroo’s shirt tighter, trying to calm the overwhelming buzzing in her mind. Bokuto and Akaashi leaned in closer and tried to steady their breathing. It took a couple minutes, but they finally, visibly calmed. 

“I can’t believe we’re stuck here forever! Oh God, we’re really gonna die here, aren’t we?” Asahi sobbed from a crouching position on the floor, head buried in her arms. Suga and Daichi sat on either side of her, rubbing her back and trying to give encouraging words, but she was too far gone. She couldn’t even hear them over how hard she was crying, they could only wait for her to calm down on her own at this point. Suga gave a sad look to Daichi who sighed and shook her head. 

“Hey, I know we’re kinda in a weird situation…” Misaki started only to be interrupted by Daishou.

“I think this situation is a little more than  _ weird  _ but go on.”

“Well, yea, but I mean since we definitely might be trapped here, maybe we should look around. It’s possible we could find a way out or something. Or at least how we’re gonna survive in here; food, a place to sleep, etcetera…” He received various nods and hums in response. 

“Let’s split up to cover more ground. We should go with whoever we’re comfortable and familiar with for now.” Iwaizumi suggested as she helped Oikawa up.

“Why, you don’t trust us? Or are you planning to be the first killer?” Tendou got into a martial arts fighting position and jumped closer to Ushijima who gave no response. Iwaizumi growled under her breath and shot the other girl a harsh glare. 

“I think it’s a good idea. We’ll stay here with Asahi for a while and then join you guys.” Daichi affirmed. Everyone was already split into groups according to team, with Nekoma and Fukurodani becoming conjoined. Terushima and Misaki left first, followed by Oikawa and Iwaizumi, Tendou and Ushijima, and after organizing their particularly larger group, Nekorodani began walking out. 

“Um…” someone behind them squeaked and mumbled something inaudible, causing the group to turn around and spot Daishou standing all alone, blushing and looking down at her feet, combing a hand through her insanely long ponytail.

“Ohoho? Something the matter, slimy?” Kuroo teased. Daisho spluttered and began shaking her fists angrily. She swiftly turned on her heel and crossed her arms, opting to just sit on the floor a few meters away from the Karasuno group. 

“Oh, no one on her team is here, huh? Dodged a bullet I guess.” Yaku pointed out matter of factly. Kuroo laughed at the irony of the situation, sure the rest of the Nohebi girls were safe from whatever was happening to them, but it’s positive Daishou wishes at least one of them were here with her. It was hard to tell if that made her a really bad person or just kind of pathetic. So Kuroo laughed even harder. 

“You don’t have to stand there laughing at me! Just go and explore or whatever, like I care!” she screamed from her sitting position, face red and puffy. After a moment of silence, before Nekorodani had a chance to resume their journey Daishou sprang up and bolted past them and down the hall. Faintly they could hear her sad little voice practically begging to join Ushijima and Tendou. It sounded like they gladly accepted her. 

Oikawa and Iwaizumi walked down one of the hallways not blocked off with metal bars and found that it was lined with bedrooms. Each door had someone’s name and picture on it. Iwaizumi approached a door that had her name and face on it, reaching for the handle and giving it a quick turn. It didn’t budge. She looked at the door, puzzled as to why it’d be locked if it had to be a dorm, according to the map. Oikawa checked her device again. It was definitely a bedroom. Just as they were about to give up on it both girls nearly jumped out of their skin, Iwaizumi banging her head on the door behind her. She rubbed her head and glared at Monokuma who had materialized out of nowhere. Oikawa slid over and clung to Iwaizumi’s arm, fearing what he had in store for them this time.

“Jeez, don’t get your balls in a volley! Hahaha! Get it, cuz you all play volleyball! Ah, I crack myself up!” he continued to laugh crazily for several moments before he collected himself again. “Ah, but anyway, I’ve just come to help you out is all.”

“Help us out? You’re the one who trapped us here, if you wanna help us out then  _ let us out! _ ” Iwaizumi roared at Monokuma, approaching him threateningly before Oikawa tugged her arm back. 

“Don’t! Rule number one, remember!” she warned, recalling the first rule, which was to not harm Monokuma. She didn’t know what he meant by “punishment”, but she figured it wasn’t a simple time out in the corner for ten minutes. Iwaizumi stepped back and clicked her tongue. 

“You’re lucky you’ve got such a smart cookie with you. And no, while I won’t be letting you out, I  _ am  _ going to let you  _ in!  _ Into your dorms to be exact! Just swipe your handy dandy device over that rectangular pad on your door to unlock it. It only works for your corresponding room, so no one should be able to sneak in and kill you in your sleep as long as you keep it locked.” Just as soon as monokuma appeared, he vanished.  Iwaizumi hesitated, making sure he really was gone, and approached her door again. She swiped the device over the rectangular pad above the handle and heard a small beep and clicking sound, signaling that the door was now unlocked. She twisted the knob and entered the room, eyes going wide, surprised at what she saw. She didn’t really know what to expect, but, the room was actually quite nice. A queen sized bed, night stand, desk with a swivel chair and lamp, dresser, a bookshelf. The walls all had posters that Iwaizumi would have in her room, of monster movies and motivational posters. There were six dumbbells by the foot of her bed, each pair going up in size and weight. She nodded in approval as she walked in and tested the firmness of the bed. A bit too plush for her taste, but not bad. Oikawa didn’t waste any time running and flopping on her bed face first and messing up the perfectly placed pillows. She smiled up at Iwaizumi and giggled.

“We can just share this room right? You’re not gonna make me stay all by myself are you?” she reached her hands up and grabbed at Iwaizumi’s arms pulling her down and wrapping herself around her. Even though the situation they’re in is extremely dire and possibly a death sentence, she could still feel at ease as long as Iwaizumi was there to hold on to. Simultaneously, Oikawa was also an anchor for Iwaizumi, keeping her from losing it and doing something too risky. She calmed her nerves and leveled her thinking. They laid like that together for a while, forgetting about exploring any further. Not like there was much to see anyway, what with most of the building being off limits.

Ushijima, Tendou, and Daishou, or Shinohebizawa, found a room full of computers and chairs, like a normal school computer lab. It was dark and warm, the only light being from various standby lights on the computers and outlets. Ushijima flipped on a light so they could see better. There was a large projection screen in the front of the room, overhead was a projector hanging from the ceiling. Nothing looked out of the ordinary. Daishou sat down at a computer and tapped the monitor’s power button. The screen came to life and the system began to boot up, taking her to a home screen. Tendou leaned over her shoulder and stared at the bright screen, searching it. 

“No internet?” she asked a bit too loud next to Daishou’s ear.

“I doubt that bear would give us access to the internet if he plans on keeping us trapped here.” she said as she clicked around. There wasn’t much of anything on the computer, save the normal stuff that comes preinstalled. No files, no photos, nothing. It was like a brand new computer, but with the way it hummed continually and was coated with dust, it didn’t seem like it was bought recently. Ushijima looked around but nothing was really there to look at. Just a bunch of computers, something she isn’t particularly good with, and a projector screen. In the corner however she noticed a podium. With nothing to lose she walked over to it and looked behind it. It was dusty, with a few spider webs in the corners, but one thing stood out. There was an upside down paper of sorts, it looked like the back of a photograph. She picked it up and fanned it to get rid of some of the dust. She turned it over and saw that it was a picture of a group of girls. They were all smiling and laughing, and it looked like they were all wearing some kind of sports uniform, but the photo was so caked with dust it was hard to make anything out, let alone any faces or details. Ushijima squinted at the photo but it was no use, even rubbing the dust off proved futile as it was basically part of it now. Any more rubbing would probably damage it beyond recovery. 

“Hey, Wakatoshiii~, we’re leaving!” Tendou called to her as she and Daishou began walking toward the door. Ushijima nodded and pocketed the photograph as she too exited the room. 

On the other side of the first floor Terushima and Misaki came across what looked like a lounge area. It was pretty big, complete with a couple of couches, one being directly in front of a large flat screen and multimedia center. Big speakers, an XBox with an array of games and DVD’s on an adjacent bookshelf, and a stereo system. A foosball table and air hockey table stood in the back under hanging lamps. To the side a full sized popcorn machine and small refrigerator sat with a table between them. Shelves above the table housed glasses and bowls. Shelves under the table housed what looked like big bags of corn kernels and popcorn flavoring. The room was basically every teenagers dream hang out space. Terushima bounced around the room, taking in the splendor and poking around every corner and crevice. She found another cabinet on the other side of the fridge and opened it, revealing pounds and pounds of assorted candy. She gasped, her eyes a light, her mouth practically drooling at the sight. She squealed and skipped over to Misaki, throwing her arms around him and hopping up so that he was now carrying her. She giggled and nuzzled her face into his neck. He let out a huff of air and carried her over to one of the couches to sit down, keeping her in his lap. 

“Well I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself. Why am I not surprised you’d find a way to turn our hostage situation into an opportunity to party. He laughed and pinched her side, causing her yelp and jump. She slapped his arm  but couldn’t stop laughing. She pushed him over on his back. He wasn’t expecting this and stared at her puzzled. She stared back down at him, smirking wickedly, straddling him and trailing her fingers around his torso. He sighed, relieved a bit, but he didn’t know why. It’s not like he believed Terushima would kill him. He grabbed her hands and laced their fingers together. It was calming having her there with him. Even though the situation was anything but calm, and she could be a bit wild sometimes, she was as close to him as one could get. She leaned down and kissed his cheek softly. It was less sticky this time as her lipgloss had started to wear off. Her sunglasses slipped off the top of her head as she went down and landed on Misaki’s face. He chuckled and put them on, claiming them as his own. They were  _ best friends _ . 

“Really guys?” a sudden voice rattled the two of them, causing Terushima to almost roll off the couch. They both looked over to see Daichi leaning against the doorframe with a knowing smirk on her face. “Come on, everyone’s reconvened in the cafeteria.” she nodded her head in the direction of the cafe and turned to start walking. Misaki quickly sat up and helped Terushima up as well so they could head out. Terushima snatched her sunglasses back and replaced them on her head where they belong. 

All the girls were seated around a large table chatting casually about what they found and think. It seemed that their spirits had lifted considerably, their conversations now sprinkled with laughter and exuberant hand motions. 

“Oh, is everyone here?” Suga piped up when she saw Daichi return with Terushima and Misaki behind her. She quickly surveyed the room, counting heads in her mind before frowning slightly, realizing Kuroo and Kenma hadn’t returned from finding Daishou, wherever she ran off to. Just as she was about to volunteer to look for them, the trio sauntered right into the cafeteria. Kenma had a pained expression, like she was embarrassed to be associated with her present company. Kuroo was chuckling like a demon and side eyeing a sopping wet and extremely pissed off Daishou. The three approached the rest of the group without saying a word at all. Daishou was hugging her arms together, practically shivering as she looked over at Ushijima pitifully. Ushijima immediately stripped off her large varsity jacket and pulled out the chair next to her, inviting Daishou to sit down. She happily took the seat and was met with Ushijima’s jacket wrapped around her like a blanket. She shot a glare at Kuroo and stuck out her tongue.

“Do I wanna know what happened?” Daichi pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. 

“We found the baths…” Kenma mumbled irritably and cast a similar glare at Kuroo. 

“So you tried to be the one to kick start the killing game, huh?” Tendou teased.

“It’s too soon to joke about that! I don’t wanna think about anyone drowning!” Asahi buried her head in her arms and tried to block out the talk of murder as Suga began rubbing her back to calm her back down. 

“If you wanna lie down there are bedrooms right down that hall.” Iwaizumi suggested. 

“Oh really? How are they?” Misaki asked.

“They’re pretty nice; good size, comfortable bed, and I think they’re customized to our individual personalities and interests. Then again I’ve only seen mine and Oikawa’s.” she explained. “By the way, you can only unlock your own door; you need to use this little device thing and swipe it over the metal box on your door to open it. So no one can just come in uninvited.” 

“So no one can…” Akaashi stopped herself from finishing that sentence. It was too soon. 

“We found a computer lab out there. But none of them have internet access or games or anything! So it’s pretty pointless!” Tendou said and leaned back in her chair. 

“Misaki and I found a ha-yuge (huge) lounge area with a gi-gantic t.v. and stereo 

system and a gaming console and a popcorn machine and a pool table and-” 

“Yea, it had a ton of fun stuff in it, though I can’t imagine what it would be doing in a 

school.” Misaki finished.

“I found the kitchen!” Bokuto exclaimed, shooting her hand up in the air. 

“Monokuma came out of nowhere and informed us that whatever we use gets restocked  the next day, so we won’t have to worry about starving to death.” Akaashi clarified to the rest who all hummed and nodded. It seemed like they really had just about everything they needed to live for a few days until they found a way out or someone came looking for them. They were anything but thrilled, but as long as no one did anything too rash they could make it. 


	2. Those Who Adapt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe this place isn't so bad...

As the rest of the day went on everyone stayed primarily in their self assigned groups, scattered to the far ends of the parts of the campus they had access to. The lounge area was a common gathering place for several of the groups since it contained a big tv and plenty of other sources of entertainment. Some simply opted to stay resigned to their bedrooms, taking in the situation and letting the initial shock and anxiety run it’s course before they could interact with others. Kenma laid curled into Kuroo’s side, furiously tapping away at a game that was found on a bookshelf in her room. She constantly lost track and died over and over, the sound of the game stopping and restarting echoed in her head like a broken record, but she didn’t care. The game was simple and pointless, and even though she kept dying, it did keep her mind busy. It took her thoughts away from the topic of kidnapping, murder, contemplating suicide to escape. Her eyes were blown wide, the blue and red flashing screen reflected off of her unblinking eyes. Kuroo drifted in and out of sleep, stroking Kenma’s hair like muscle memory. Besides the sound of tapping buttons and low 8-bit music, it was deathly quiet. 

Oikawa and Iwaizumi laid in a similar position, Oikawa dozing, her head on Iwaizumi’s chest like a pillow while she too drifted in and out of sleep. The only sound in their room was the sound of the heat running. Each room had it’s own heater/airconditioner. Oikawa turned on the heater before curling up on the bed to make the room warm and cozy. It was too warm for Iwaizumi’s taste, not to the point where she was sweating, but still. She sighed, wanting to turn it off but knowing she won’t. Oikawa is in a deep and peaceful sleep on her chest, she’s just glad she hasn’t flipped her lid about the situation. The realization about how dire this is probably hasn’t sunk in yet. Iwaizumi ran her fingers through Oikawa’s soft curls as the “rules of the game” played through her mind again. Her jaw clenched. ‘You better not do something stupid and make me lose my life, dumbass.’ The thought of anyone actually going through with a murder still seemed absurd and unlikely. All of them were trapped in a school full of people they barely knew, but none of them seemed like the type to murder. As the faces ran through Iwaizumi’s head she couldn’t help but make a checklist of people to watch out for. Maybe she was being paranoid, maybe she was only basing these assumptions off of stereotypes and first impressions. She looked down at Oikawa, a look of pure, sleep induced bliss painted on her face, snoring away, drool rolling down her cheek. ‘Better safe than sorry…’

In the lounge the television displayed a random movie no one remembered the name of. The lights were turned off in the background, the couch facing the T.V. piled with Sugawara, Daichi, and Asahi, trying not to fall asleep, but utterly failing. Suga snored away, nestled between Asahi and Daichi; Asahi’s chest being her pillow, and Daichi’s arm being a source of heat for her upper body. Daichi finally gave in to the sleep after sparing one last glance at Asahi, making sure she was doing alright; her breath was slow and steady, her eyes drooping, seconds away from falling into sleep. Sugawara was out cold, no worries there. With a deep sigh, Daichi closed her eyes and allowed herself to fall asleep. On the other end of the couch Misaki leaned back, head resting against a throw pillow, Terushima cuddled up on his lap, resting her head on his shoulder. Her signature sunglasses fell and sat lopsided on her face. He giggled as he picked the glasses of her face and laid them carefully beside him. He reached back over and brushed her bangs away from her eyes. He rubbed his hand up and down her arm, feeling goosebumps rise where he left. ‘How do I do this?’ he thought, hesitating in his movements. He finally decided to gently lift her and lay her on the couch where he sat, it was warm there. When he settled her and made sure he didn’t wake her he stripped off his jacket and draped it over her body. She curled into its warmth and hummed contently. He smiled down at her, glad she was feeling okay enough to sleep at a time like this. Then again, she’d always been very cool headed, despite what her playful personality might lead one to believe. Misaki turned on his heel and walked out of the lounge heading towards the restrooms. He whistled a tune to himself as he strolled the empty hallways, not a soul in sight. Until there was. As he walked down the hallway containing the dorms, he happened upon one of the girls standing outside of her room...in only a towel. Her hair was dripping wet, and from what he could tell she was shivering standing there. He cursed the fact that he didn’t have another jacket to offer, but none the less approached the girl. She jumped slightly when she noticed him approaching, her cheeks immediately turning bright red as she spun away trying to hide herself. Misaki slowed his pace and raised his arms non threateningly. 

“Hey, uh, are you alright? I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable, but do you need help?” he offered cautiously, not wanting to make the girl more uncomfortable than she already must’ve been. She turned around slowly, still blushing and avoiding eye contact. She ran her fingers through her short, peach-brown hair and twisted her mouth a little, as if wanting to say something but stopping herself.

“Uh...well...this is kinda embarrassing but...I kinda locked myself out of my room…” she explained, finally locking eyes with Misaki. He had to physically look down to meet her eyes as she was so short. She tugged the top part of her towel higher and closer to her chest to cover more. Misaki averted his eyes and made sure to only look at her eyes. Her situation though, was difficult. He wanted to help but what could he do? Only the person with their personal device could open their door, and if he broke in he might get punished by Monokuma. He thought for a second, weighing his options. “Um..you wouldn’t happen to know where Kuroo is, do you?” she asked, breaking Misaki’s train of thought.

“Um...that’s…” he didn’t remember who that was. 

“She’s tall with really messy, black hair, and a stupid cocky smirk.” the girl described. Misaki could remember her now, but there was no way he could tell her where she was if she wasn’t in her own room. 

“Is she in her room?” he suggested, hoping. The girl shook her head with a disappointed frown. Misaki couldn’t think of any other alternatives to help this girl out. He looked around seeing if maybe someone else was around but it was clear that just about everyone was either asleep or in hiding. He pulled out his personal device and stepped forward toward his room, without hesitating he opened his door. “C’mon. I can at least lend you some clothes so you won’t have to stand out here shivering.” he guided her into his room, her face lit up with an ecstatic and grateful smile.

“Thank you so much! I’m so sorry for causing you trouble.” 

“No problem at all, really. What’s your name again, by the way? Sorry, I’m not all that good with names.” he rubbed the back of his head nervously, embarrassed to have to ask her name when she already introduced herself before.

“Yaku Morisuke.” The door closed behind them.

 

The girls gathered in the cafeteria, entering in pairs, rubbing sleep from their eyes, some going back to sleep at the dining table. Almost everyone was wearing the same clothes they arrived in, having slept in them and not considering changing. There was very little conversation, the room filled with low yawns and grumbles. 

“Hey, everyone’s here right?” Suga inquired, not even feeling like counting heads. It was about 10am, but somehow it still felt too early. Iwaizumi gave a quick survey and concluded that,

“Ushijima isn't here. Neither is Tendou or Daishou….actually,” she rose from her chair with growing suspicion in her eyes. “Do you smell that?” Immediately the sound of chairs scuffing against the floor, bodies shifting closer to one another, filled the cafe. 

“Yea, I smell it too…” Akaashi turned toward the source of the smell, debating whether it'd be a good idea to investigate. 

“Stay here.” Iwaizumi instructed Oikawa, who reached out to stopped her but just barely missed before she was out of reach. Daichi, Bokuto, and Kuroo, also got up and followed. If something dangerous was that way, they'd need to back up Iwaizumi. The scent was coming from the kitchen, as they approached they also noticed noise as well. They hesitated, listening. It sounded like murmuring, harmless enough, until the sound of a sharp knife, either being unsheathed or slicing through some unidentifiable object, rang through their eardrums. The four of them burst through the door, also flinging it off it's hinges. They stood in defensive positions, ready to defend against whatever what in there. Instead, however, they were met with three shocked and confused stares. Silence fell over them. 

“Ah, breakfast will be ready shortly.” Ushijima deadpanned as she flipped a filet of salmon on the stove. Daishou only hesitated a moment before going back to whipping the eggs in a large mixing bowl, perched on top of the counter she was now at eye level with Ushijima. 

“I think these are mixed enough…” she tilted the bowl in Ushijima direction for her to inspect. She simply nodded and took the bowl, turning on another pan on a separate burner.

“Well done.” Ushijima gave a very small smile before she turned away to pour the eggs into the pan. Daishou beamed at her, kicking her feet back and forth from where she sat. Kuroo squinted at the scene, the whole thing just screamed suspicious. Neither of these girls had ever met before in their lives until yesterday, and now they're acting all close, cooking together, and looking domestic. Daishou has a history of being manipulative and sneaky, faking her way into people's good sides to get ahead. From where Kuroo stood their relationship just looked like another one of Daishou’s schemes to keep herself on top, or in this case, keep herself alive. 

“I bet she poisoned it…” Kuroo mumbled, still glaring at Daishou, boring her eyes into the other girls head. Ushijima paused, picking the mixing bowl with egg still in it back up she examined it.

“I don't think so…” she concluded, putting the bowl back down. She then reaches over to the spices Daishou used to season them and examined the labels.

“You don't need to check, Ushijima-san! She's just being annoying!” Daishou protested and lowered Ushijimas hand to put the spice down. 

“I know you didn't poison them, but it would be a problem if she went on a hunger strike because she didn't have proof you didn't.

“The proof would be that no one else is dying! You don't have to humor her, Ushijima-san, she's such an idiot!” Ushijima hummed in response and went back to cooking.

“Miso soup is done!” Tendou cheered and flung the spoon she was using to stir up in the air triumphantly. Little splatters of miso rained onto the other girls who winced and drew back slightly. A chunk of tofu went flying and bounced off of Bokuto’s forehead; she was able to catch it before it fell to the ground. Without hesitation she tossed it in her mouth whole.

“Bokuto!” Kuroo yelled out, face going pale. Bokuto smiled contently, prompting a satisfied hum from Tendou, still holding the spoon above her head. 

“IWA-CHAAAAAAAN!!” The shrill, ear piercing shriek caused several hearts to skip a beat as a sudden body burst through the doors. Oikawa ran into the kitchen, screaming frantically holding a chair above her head, ready to throw. Luckily, before she had the chance, Iwaizumi grabbed her wrists and confiscated the chair. Within moments Oikawa had locked eyes with Ushijima, narrowing them viciously, she grabbed onto Iwaizumi’s arm and attempted to pull her away, to no avail. “Iwa-chan, she’s planning on poisoning us, I know it!” She “whispered”.

“You're such an idiot, no one's poisoning anyone!” 

“You wanna try this?” Ushijima held up a piece of salmon towards Iwaizumi, who without hesitation, took it. She hummed as she chewed, enjoying the taste. 

“That’s really good, I had no idea you could cook.” 

“I recently learned a few things since I'll be going away for college soon; I figured I'd need to know how to cook for myself.” 

Back in the cafeteria, the girls had settled, the previous drowsiness and anxiety had subsided and now they sat at their long table with their plates of delicious food. They collectively clapped their hands together before starting.

“Thank you for the- FUCK WE’RE STILL MISSING PEOPLE! WHERE’S TERUSHIMA AND MISAKI?!” Daichi stood up abruptly looking around. The panic returned. 

“Shit, Yaku isn't here either!” Kuroo finally realized and got up from her seat. No one had seen hide nor tail of them, or heard a thing. They couldn't have slept in, not with Monokuma’s 10am wake up call. However, just like everytime they start to panic over missing people, someone strolled in, yawning and stretching her arms. Behind her came two more people, the last two missing. Terushima looked behind her noticing the other two and bouncing over to Misaki, latching herself around his shoulders. Yaku, who was standing very close to him, sidestepped to get out of Terushima’s way, continuing her walk to the table. She was greeted with several puzzled looks. It was understandable, she had strolled in extremely late, which was out of character for her, and to top it off she was wearing a t shirt that was entirely too big for her, and sweatpants that are rolled all the way up to her knees, because they too are entirely too big. Kuroo and Kenma gave her a disapproving stare and shook their heads. Yaku avoided them, and pulled up a seat. The girls kept silent as the late ones got themselves situated. 

“There’s more food in the kitchen, please, help yourselves.” Terushima jumped at Ushijima’s offer and dragged Misaki to the kitchen by his arm with little resistance.

“Oh, I’m not hungry. I’ll probably eat later.” Yaku yawned, looking more tired than anything. She kept her head turned in the opposite direction of Kuroo who was sending very obvious, “you’re-being-obvious” glares.

“You should eat...I hear you burn a lot of calories having sex.” Oikawa nonchalantly suggested through the silence. She lost her composure and began laughing after she heard Yaku intake a sharp breath and slam her hand on the table before wordlessly getting up and stomping to the kitchen. 

“That wasn’t nice...hehehe.” Asahi tried to reprimand Oikawa for making fun, but couldn’t help herself from laughing also. Some tried to stifle their giggling by eating but it proved difficult.

“You guys better not be going for round two in there!” Tendou called out causing the whole cafeteria to burst into a fit of laughter. Yaku poked her head out through the doorway, cheeks bright red and face twisted into a demonic, furious expression. She took her index finger and made a slicing motion across her neck at Tendou before descending back into the kitchen.

“Aha! The first murderer!” it had already gotten to the point where the idea of a killing game was a joke amongst the group of girls and Misaki. Even Asahi was beginning to take the notion very lightly. 


	3. It's Not a Joke Anymore

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They'd gotten to the point where their whole hostage situation could be played off as a joke...but now who's laughing?

Daishou walked slowly and lazily down the corridor toward her bedroom. It was painfully quiet, and late at night. Most of the girls had either retired to their rooms or gathered in the lounge to unwind for the night. It had been a pretty uneventful day, save the commotion at breakfast. There was apparently a video game tournament sometime in the afternoon with a bunch of the girls trying to beat Kenma at a game. She had no interest in it. The only one’s she seemed to be getting along with were Ushijima and Tendou. She hung out with them for most of the day which was actually quite pleasant; the chatted about their volleyball teams, exchanging stories of matches and wild opponents. They spent a lot of time in the kitchen, being the only one’s who knew how to cook apparently, they also made lunch and dinner and for everyone. 

Daichou sighed as she turned the corner to the bedroom hallway, her body heavy with sleepiness. She began to sway just slightly as she neared her door, knowing her soft, inviting bed was only a few meters away. 

A sudden wave of sound made Daishou jolt back into alert consciousness. The sound of someone giggling, two people even, and rapid footsteps. She looked onward at the far corner of the hallway where the noise came from, mulling over whether to follow it or not. She was too tired. Her senses were only brought back to life for a few moments before quickly dulling and forcing a hard yawn from her core. The footsteps sounded like two people fooling around, chasing each other or something with breathy giggles and squeaks dispersed with the stomps. As Daishou swiped her ID device to open her door, the two people rounded the corner towards the bedrooms. Daishou paid them hardly any mind but spared a quick glance if only out of curiosity. 

‘Oh, it’s just that Nekoma libero...Yaku, I think. And...Misaki? The Johzenji manager…’ she rolled her eyes as she slipped into her room for the night. She could care less about those two’s personal affair at the moment. But as she began to undress and slip into bed her mind kept going back to the scene she simply glanced at. Adding that with the scene from this morning, it was obvious what the two were up to. Part of Daishou cringed at the thought, but knowing it was something they obviously didn’t want to be public made a note to keep this bit of info tucked away in her mind for later. You never know when you need a little bit of dirt on someone. But then, the other half of her tugged at her heart, pulling out memories of when she was like that with the boy she liked. Mika; Flashbacks of Mika ran through her mind as tucked herself into bed trying to force them away but with no luck. She remembered flocking around like a couple of idiots, him letter her borrow his clothes, sleeping in the same bed together and just talking for hours until they just fell asleep mid sentence. She remembered all those lunch periods they spent together with him resting his head in her lap as she dropped clumps of rice and meat into his mouth. Holding hands on long walks home, not wanting to let go when they reach her door step. A lump formed in Daishou’s throat and large tears quickly pooled and spilled from her eyes dampening her pillow. She remembered going days without so much as seeing him between classes, long volleyball practices before, during, and after school. She remembered replying to text messages several hours or a whole day late, or just not replying at all. She remembered the words that tore her apart and left her broken for days. ‘If you love volleyball this much, then you don't need a boyfriend.’ She muffled a choked sob with her blanket as she pulled it over head. She laid there letting her tears and cries flow out of her at full force, practically screaming as she felt her heart rip apart yet again. She stuffed her mouth with her blanket to try and muffle the noise. 

When her desperate wails finally died off into sporadic heaves and sharp breaths she threw the covers off of her body and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Taking deep breaths she brushed her bangs out of her sweating and flushed face. The room was quiet. Outside was quiet.  She pushed herself up off the bed and made her way to the door, opening it and stepping out.

 

Yet another morning greeted the clan of teens as they sleepily dragged themselves to their unspoken, unanimous morning meeting place for roll call: The cafeteria. Oikawa sat with her legs over Iwaizumi’s lap, her eyes half open. The Karasuno gang was all but sleeping at the table, Asahi sitting upright but dangerously close to collapsing onto the table. Daichi sat up with her arms crossed over her chest, trying her best to stay awake, and Sugawara...apparently could give a fuck if sleeping at the table was considered bad manners, her long silver hair sprawled out in every direction as she softly snored on the aluminum surface. Ushijima and Tendou waltzed in looking significantly more awake than the rest and headed straight to the kitchen to begin preparing breakfast. Right after them Kuroo came yawning in with Kenma piggy backing and barely trying to stay awake. Akaashi and Bokuto strolled in with them without a hint of sleepiness to be seen. 

“Honestly it’s 10am already. Why is it that you’re all so tired?” Akaashi nagged to no one in particular. Everyone always came in so tired after Monokuma’s wake up call as if they would’ve otherwise slept well into the afternoon. Maybe it was just Akaashi who was so used to waking up early for school and even on days off for morning volleyball practice, that her internal clock never failed to wake her up before 9am. They joined the rest at the table quietly. Bokuto proceeded to lay her legs over Kuroo’s lap and poke at her cheeks in an attempt to wake her up, or at the very least annoy her. The late crew, as expected of their name, was late again. No one made any remarks about their whereabouts or seemed to show any signs of worry. A few of them looked up and acknowledged Daishou’s arrival who nodded her head in their direction, shot a quick glare at Kuroo who fired one right back, and went straight to the kitchen. Several minutes went by in almost complete silence. As the clock ticked on the girls began to wake up gradually, the heavy silence that once dominated the room now transformed into a low yet lively chatter. This time around Akaashi was the only one to acknowledge Terushima and Misaki entering the cafeteria. Misaki had a pleasant smile on his face as he continued his conversation with Terushima who, although looked quite happy as usual, her hair was particularly messy and damp. 

“Mornin’ guys! Sorry I’m late, I decided to take a shower before breakfast!” Terushima waved in everyone’s general direction and bounced over to an empty seat, making sure to take one that still had another seat open right next to hers. 

“Yeah, and I don’t really have an excuse. I kinda just didn’t wanna get up, ehehe.” Misaki had a very strained and nervous smile as he rubbed the back of his head and joined Terushima at the table. He raked his fingers through his hair and kept his eyes anywhere but on another person. His skin looked shiny, like he was sweating and his knee kept bouncing up and down. The chatter around him continued on, but a few sent glances his way as he focused squarely on the tabletop, his fingers tapping on his thigh. 

“Hey, Misaki-kun…” Daichi rapped on the table surface right in front of him to snap him out of his trance. He jumped, his face looking much more pale and glistening with sweat. He looked like he was going to be sick. When Misaki didn’t respond, all eyes went to him. The girls grew more and more concerned by the moment as Misaki continued to sit, trembling with his head down, his breaths could be heard, shaky and rapid. Terushima placed a hand tentatively on his shoulder, her usual carefree eyes now filled will worry and dread.

“Misaki-” before Terushima could finish Misaki bolted up from his seat, sending the chair tumbling to the ground, and beelined for the large trashcan where the sound of heaving and gagging followed by the contents of someone’s stomach emptying sent shivers down the girls spines and turned their insides. 

“Ew…” Oikawa mumbled, covering her mouth and looking away. Terushima ran over and began rubbing his back and pulling his hair out of his face. 

“She would know how to handle someone puking, huh? All those wild parties must be good practice.” Kuroo teased without moving an inch.

“You really pick the best times to pick on people.” Akaashi sneered, although she also didn’t make any attempts to get up. But gave a telling look to Kenma who received and returned with one of her own, like they had a secret language. 

“What is that, some secret language?” Bokuto asked looking back and forth between them frantically. 

“It’s a setter thing.” Oikawa testified, to which Sugawara chimed in to elaborate.

“She basically said something along the lines of, ‘You’re so strong to be able to put up with her for so long, I want to push her off of something after only spending a short amount of time together’.” 

“Wow, Akaashi, glad to know how much our friendship means to you!” Kuroo feigned being hurt, clutching her heart and making a pained, sorrowful expression. 

“Guys I think something is actually wrong here. Misaki really isn’t looking good.” Daichi informed the rest of the group as she sped over to where he and Terushima were. Misaki was white as a sheet and shaking violently, sweat dripping from his face and neck. “Misaki-kun, come sit down.” Daichi implored and motioned for someone to bring a chair over. Iwaizumi got up and brought her chair over quickly and helped him to sit. He was breathing like he’d just ran a marathon and wouldn’t look anyone in the eyes. Terushima had her hands covering her mouth, her eyebrows knit together worriedly, her face beginning to pale as well. At this point the others found it necessary to get up and approach Misaki to see just how bad he was doing. 

“What’s wrong with Misaki-kun? He looks like death!” 

“Thbth…” Misaki mumbled under his breath, incomprehensible. The girls looked at each other hoping hoping someone understood, only to notice that none of them did. Daichi leaned in closer to Misaki and asked him to repeat himself only to receive a very similar mumble. She strained to put together what he was saying in her head only to come up short. She shrugged in the direction of Terushima because there was no way to understand what he kept mumbling. He said it again.

“The bath?” Terushima whispered through her hands. Heads shot in her direction, startling her. 

“The bath, you said?” Sugawara alleged and straightened up. Without even a moment’s thought she began to head out of the cafeteria and towards the baths. 

“Wait, Suga, I’ll go with you!” Asahi called out and ran after her. Kuroo turned on her heels and rushed into the kitchen followed by Bokuto. A quick commotion rang from the doors to the kitchen, shouting at first, then total silence for several moments before the the sound of running water and rummaging through cabinets and drawers replaced it. Very quickly, Daishou can skittering out with a glass of water in her hands, handing it to Misaki and carefully guiding his shaking hands to let him drink without spilling. During so, Bokuto came sprinting out with a folded towel in her hands and presented it to Terushima. She looked at it quizzically at first before accepting it and bending down to be level with Misaki. She dabbed the towel over his head, wiping away the sweat and trying to cool him off. It was still a mystery what had come over him this morning, but at the moment everyone’s main concern was to take care of Misaki. 

Until the moment passed. 

 

“Attention, students of the school of mutual killing!” a painfully familiar and desperately unwanted voice sang through the speakers above sending chills through everyone’s spines and causing hearts to skip beats. They paused, looking at the ceiling as if there were anything to look at, then to each other, each one carrying a shocked and dreadful expression. “A body has been found in the first floor bath! Please make your way to the body to begin the investigation before your first class trial! AAAAHHAHAHAHAHA!!” Suddenly, Misaki wasn’t the only one with a stark white complexion and bulging eyes. Silence befell them as they all looked at each other as if to confirm what they just heard. 

“A-a body?” Iwaizumi stammered. Oikawa, now joined up with the rest of the group clung tightly to Iwaizumi’s arm, eyes blown wide, hands trembling. She looked Iwaizumi in the eyes as her’s began to develop tears. Iwaizumi grabbed onto OIkawa’s waist and pulled her close, gripping tightly and trying to hold back a panic attack of her own. 

Thunderous footsteps stomped back into the cafeteria, Sugawara and Asahi hunched over, panting and dripping with sweat, out of breath and shaking in their spot. Daichi bound over to them both.

“Suga! Asahi!” They panted and tried to catch their breaths, but Asahi broke into a choked sob, coughing and sputtering, unable to breath properly. She reached out and threw herself at Daichi, sending them both to the floor. 

“What’s going on?!” Bokuto asked, panic evident in her tone as she stepped closer to Sugawara. Still hunched over, and now trying to contain heaving and gagging just like Misaki, she croaked out, “Did anyone notice...that Yaku-san was missing?”


	4. At least someone knows biology...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's just as bad as they thought...no, WORSE! The first investigation begins.

Stomping footsteps stampeded through the hallways, sprinting, stumbling over each other in a mad dash for the baths. The hallways were a blur in their eyes filled with dread and budding tears. With the doors to the bath room in view, the girls’ breaths hitched, their hearts dropping into their stomach as they collectively collided with the double doors, sending them flying open (thankfully still on their hinges). The air was thick and muggy as expected of a large bath. A heavy cloud of huffing and panting drowned out the senses along with the white fog making for several disoriented teenagers, staggering through the dizzying haze. Whimpers and whines sounded from the back of the group; Oikawa clung anxiously to Iwaizumi’s shirt, her head held strong as she and everyone proceeded on, but the nevertheless, her footsteps lagged just the slightest, her jaw quivered every now and then, and the beating in her chest was nearly audible. Daishou, not so subtly, clung tightly to Ushijima arm, hiding half of her face and taking every step as cautiously as physically possible, to the point where Ushijima was practically dragging her along, her preppy flats gave no resistance on the slippery tile floor. Kuroo’s pace hastened as the large shareable bath came into view, high up enough that it's contents weren't visible. Kenma lagged behind her now feeling a reluctance at seeing what she knew would be waiting for them, even if she didn't want to believe it. Daichi caught up and placed her hand securely on Kenma’s back, keeping her pace slow and steady, leading the rest of the group onward. Now far ahead of them Kuroo stopped before the tub. There was a pause in action; the rest of the girls shuffled to halt a few meters behind Kuroo, waiting for some kind of response. ‘Should we approach too?’ ‘What does she see?’ ‘Is it really Yaku-san…’. The silence was deafening, their bodies painfully still. Kuroo leaned forward, bracing herself on the edge of the tub with one arm and one knee as she reached in. The sound of water swishing and splashing broke the dead silence. The other girls stared wide eyed in nerve wracking anticipation.   
“She’s taking something out of the water...is it…” just as it sounded like Kuroo had a grip on the mysterious thing she yelped loudly and jumped back. This even surprised Suga and Asahi who knew of the body. Daichi shifted Kenma over to Suga who naturally replaced Daichi’s hand on her back and on her shoulder, though no amount of reassuring contact would quell her trembling. As Daichi approached Kuroo she was taken aback, covering her nose and mouth with her arm. The smell was intense at this distance. Despite Kuroo’s initial repulsion she continued to drag what was now known or at least assumed by everyone to be Yaku, out of the water, but what she and Daichi saw upon lying her body on the tile floor nearly caused both of them to black out. Daichi averted her eyes, turned away, and stalked back over to the rest of them.   
“We need to hurry.” Kuroo deadpanned from hovering over Yaku’s body. She knelt down, taking out the hair tie that held her messy ponytail in place sloppily on the side of her head and redid it so that all of her hair was pulled tightly into a bun on top of her head, each strand of hair tucked away in someway or another and out of her face. No one moved.  
“I don't know how long we have for this investigation so we need to hurry and get as much done as possible before the trial.” Her voice cracked. Though they understood her words somehow they couldn't get their bodies to move. And investigation of a murdered girl went far beyond their capabilities as high school volleyball players, and to try to incriminate one of their own…  
“Ushijima. Tendou.” The two girls jolted at their names. “Get me the smallest metal utensils you can find and a small heat source, strong enough to burn.” Kuroo ordered. The two girls stood gaping at the request. Tendou looked up at Ushijima, eyes uncertain, almost asking her to protest. Ushijima nodded. With Daishou still latched to her arm she turned and quickly walked back to where they came from. Tendou had no choice but to follow.   
“The rest of you should start searching the immediate area, including the spot the body was found and nearby rooms for any sort of clues.” Kuroo’s voice was audibly shaking with each word. The girls looked back and forth at each other with wet eyes and pained expressions.   
“You heard her…” Akaashi finally spoke up and turned away to make her way to the bathtub. “If we don't act quickly and efficiently it'll be the end for all of us.” Her voice was grim as she stalked over the tub, Bokuto following close behind. The rest of the girls slowly and cautiously dispersed to other areas.   
Upon reaching the dreaded area the two girls caught a glimpse of the body. Thought it was quick, the sight was still enough to force a sharp breath from Bokuto and as turned away. Akaashi covered her mouth and turned attention back to the tub. The water in the tub was red. Plain red, as if it were literally filled with blood instead of water. Hesitantly, Akaashi reached in the bloody water and began to search around. Her stomach turned at the grimy feeling, the rancid coppery smell. Seconds later she was joined by Bokuto's hand searching as well and trying not to vomit. Minutes of searching passed before Bokuto gasped and swiftly pulled a stained red towel from the water. The towel would be expected since it was a bath. Thy can safely assume it was what Yaku was wearing or holding during the attack. Bokuto rang it out, craning her neck back and grimacing at it until the towel was less than dripping wet. She laid it out on the side of the tub for her and Akaashi to examine. Basically...it was red...due to the bloody water. There were no rips or tears to be seen at all, just a formerly white towel now cursed to be a rusty tan after countless washes. However it could still be used as evidence in the long run, so Akaashi picked it up but a corner and made a move to toss it on the floor, when she noticed a dark mark on the reverse side. Taking another corner to spread it out she took a closer look and noticed several faded black smudges.   
“What the…” Akaashi murmured to herself. Bokuto leaned over to take a look herself.  
“That looks like when you're wearing mascara and you cry into a white cloth, right?” She pointed out. Akaashi nodded and gently placed the towel beside her.   
“That will definitely come in handy later…” she mumbled again to herself before plunging back into the water to search. It didn't take long this time to find another artifact. A small fraction of glass...or maybe a translucent plastic…it was only a small piece with no identifiable shape. ‘What a weird throng to find in a tub…’ Akaashi thought before placing it on top of the towel.

“Here. Theses are the smallest utensils we could find, and as for a heat source we found some matches and a lighter.” Ushijima handed the items to Kuroo who took them without question and began to work immediately. Tendou recoiled at the unsightly corpse, her stomach doing twists and turns. Daishou simply wouldn't look and for good reason. The sight of Yaku’s mutilated body could make even those with the strongest constitutions shiver and gag. Her body was pale both inside and out with every drop of blood in her body evacuated into the bath water. No clothes or towel to cover her, she lay on the floor exposed, chest ripped oven, rib cage savagely separated. With all blood and mucus drained several slots and gashes were visible on her face, shoulders, breasts, even her ribs and what appeared to be her lungs and heart. A large slash ran across her throat. ‘Possibly the initial killing blow…’ Her abdomen was slashed open with entrails spilling out of the large wound. Kuroo began poking around her wounds with a tiny fork, prying open cuts and separating organs which she examined closely. Ushijima stared at Kuroo as she performed an autopsy on one of her beloved teammates. How she was able to do so with such resolve was beyond even her. Kuroo reached for the matches and without hesitating struck one over the box, igniting it. She lowered it to Yaku’s right arm, keeping the flame touched to her body for several seconds. A dark burn blossomed over her skin and Kuroo quickly withdrew the match before it burned further. With the match burned down almost to her fingertips she blew it out and lit another. This time she held the match to burn two spots in Yaku’s left arm. She did the same in three spots on her right leg and four on her left. Over her chest, the part not ripped open and mutilated, she carefully drew a V with the match. It came out uneven and shaky but a V none the less. Ushijima and Tendou both whirled an eyebrow at the strange ritual but didn't question it. From the looks of things Kuroo seemed to be the only one who knew what she was doing.

In the cafeteria Misaki remained in his chair, his face buried in the palms of his hands. He was breathing more evenly now although the trembling of his hands and shoulders didn't cease. Terushima stayed by his side crouched down and rubbing his arm and thigh soothingly. Her eyes were glued to him and filled with sympathy and worry. When Daichi and Suga reentered the cafe Terushima was the only one to look up. She stood, keeping a hand on Misaki’s shoulder as she asked for an explanation with her stare.  
“It was Yaku. She’s been murdered...brutally.” Terushima’s grip tightened on Misaki and she stepped around him to crouch by his side once more. She buried her face in his thigh and trembled as she squeezed Misaki’s arm. Misaki, finally coming out of his petrified trance, grabbed Terushima by her arms and hauled her up on top of him, squeezing her and burying his face in her long bleached hair.   
“Right now we’re trying to investigate the murder. I know you're really shaken but maybe you could tell us something that would help.” Suga explained softly. She and Daichi pulled up another chair next to Terushima and Misaki.  
“Misaki-kun, when did you find Yaku? Was it just this morning?” Daichi asked in a calm and even tone as to not upset him even more. Misaki took a deep breath.  
“No...it was in the middle of the night.” He answered. This shocked everyone around him.   
“She's been there for that long? How come you didn't tell anyone when you first found her?” Suga’s voice started to rise slightly but she kept it under control. Misaki shook his head violently and pressed his palms to his eyes.  
“I was scared, okay? I was fucking terrified! I thought the killer was still in there so I ran! I wanted to find someone but I didn't see anyone so I booked it to my room and locked the door and…” he stopped, grabbing on to Terushima again. A long pause hung over them before he continued.   
“My only other thought was to find Terushima-chan and make sure she was safe…” he paused again. “When I found her I took her to my room and waited for morning. I didn't think any of us killed Yaku-chan, I thought it was the bear. I thought he’d finally snapped and started killing us off I didn't know what to do...I'm sorry.” He pleaded, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. Daichi and Sugawara said nothing but looked at each other, silently mulling over Misaki’s testimony with subtle expressions and gestures. They could hear Terushima whispering to Misaki, stroking his hair protectively, almost in a way that she was also trying to calm herself. ‘It's okay. It’ll be okay.’ She repeated on and on.   
“Hey so-” before Daichi could get out her thought a loud bell rang over the intercoms followed by the chilling and familiar voice of Monokuma.  
“ALLLLLRIGHTY LADIES...and Misaki-kun. Please make your way to the elevator in the south wing by the gymnasium and head down to the trial room! The prosecution is about to begin!” The girls stopped wherever they were, looking back at each other uncertainly and filled with unease. With no other choice they solemnly made their way to the elevator, filing in in small clumps. A button to the right of the door said campus. Below that button said courtroom. As the last one in Iwaizumi took the liberty of pressing the the courtroom button. The elevator quaked to life and shakily dragged itself down slowly. In the dim light every face wore a grim expression, turned down or away from anyone else. Quiet.

The courtroom wasn't like what you'd expect. There was no large podium with a judge, no defense stand, no jury. Just fifteen empty podiums circled together. The walls covered in reinforced steel plates and bolts. The lights were hot and bright. On a small throb sat Monokuma, lounging and twirling a gavel with his wicked two toned grin. “Are we ready, teddies?” Monokuma mused from his comfy seat. Reluctantly, everyone took their spots. Standing between Kuroo and Daishou was a tall stand holding a picture frame. Framed inside was a photo of Yaku, like one you'd see at a wake. No one commented.  
“Alright now, allow me to go over the rules of the trial with you all! You have an unlimited amount of time to discuss amongst yourselves the details of the case, clues, accusations, and all that good stuff until you come to a decision and agree to vote. Majority rules, whoever you deem the culprit will decide your fates. If you choose correctly, the killer and only the killer will be punished. However, if you choose incorrectly, the true killer will be set free while the rest of you will be punished! Seem fair?”   
“Of course not!”   
“Good! Let the trial begin!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen I know the chapter title is "At least someone knows biology..." but that someone is NOT me!


End file.
